Museum of the BIBLE!!!

I’d like to invite you to join me on a brief tour of the Museum of the Bible! (And for a few moments in the US Capitol, and the US Library of Congress.) Here are lots of pictures, which do not do justice to the displays and information available in these wonderful buildings.

The entrance is impressive, with the “gates” engraved with the Latin text of the Bible. Just inside, there is a display with ancient Hebrew and a variety of other languages.

The inside of the building is light and bright in the main corridors, with a beautiful open staircase giving access to the displays on the different floors. This stained glass window meets you as you arrive on one of the floors.

We began our tour on the 4th floor, walking through a creative presentation of the truths, events, and people of the Old Testament. A flash of bright, bright light represented the moment when God said “Let there be light!”. There was a section which was like Noah’s Ark, and my favorite moment was walking “through the rainbow” – a white corridor lit up with changing colors. Another passageway felt like walls of water (walking through the Red Sea), and the experience of the Old Testament ended with Ezra reading the Torah.

Next we entered the village of Nazareth, where we met a woman taking care of her home and a rabbi who showed us the local synagogue.

This is an olive press!

We looked at the history of the Bible as a book.

The notes next to the Codex Vaticanus below say that it dates to the mid-4th century (around 350AD), and is among the oldest surviving complete Bibles. Some believe Emperor Constantine may have commissioned it.

The two pictures below are of Old Testament scrolls in the Hebrew language. The Ashkenazic Jews of Germany and Sephardic Jews of Spain are evidence of God’s faithfulness to His people, the Israelites.

I love seeing the different Bibles which have been translated and illustrated throughout history, and I look forward to spending eternity in heaven with Christians from all over the world!

You probably know that the Gutenberg press was one of the most important inventions of all time! I just had to take my own Bible with me to the Museum of the Bible.

There were so many other displays and details available at this museum. I couldn’t capture everything. One very interesting display (not pictured) was a presentation of about 30 different book titles from literature over the years which were direct references to Bible verses. For example: Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun.

I was very interested in the Nestorian Stele, because it was something I have never heard about.

Another dramatic presentation was the display of bookcases with a book representing every language known to man. The yellow books show the languages which do not have a Bible in their heart language, and the other books are Bibles in other languages. There were more bookcases with yellow books than this picture could show.

We took a break for lunch at the Manna restaurant! Loved the falafel, beets, chickpeas, pickled vegetables, and salad!

We ended our time in the Children’s section, which was just perfect! Colorful and fun!

The Bible in this section wasn’t really glowing like it is in this picture… and I didn’t edit it with any special effects – but I do love that God’s Word is shining, because it is truly a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. Through the Bible, we get to know the ONE who is the LIGHT of the world.

While we were in Washington DC, we also visited US Capitol and saw this picture where the Bible is clearly a very important book to the early settlers of America. (You can read the words on the page if you see it in person. Here’s more info on the Embarkation of the Pilgrims! )

In the Library of Congress, the artwork on the ceiling includes the names of great authors throughout history. And MOSES is included! As he should be. And there is a Gutenberg Bible in the US Library of Congress. It was there long before the Museum of the Bible brought the history of the Bible to DC.